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Messages - andrewalston

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1
The Lighter Side / Re: One if by land and two if by sea ...
« on: Tuesday 22 April 25 12:44 BST (UK)  »
I learned a little about the American War of Independence (as we call it) when I found that one of my ggg uncles married the granddaughter of a United Empire Loyalist, a serjeant in the King's Carolina Rangers.
Having been forced out of Florida by the Treaty of Paris, he and his family were granted 200 acres of land in Nova Scotia.

2
The Lighter Side / Re: Unusual First Names
« on: Thursday 10 April 25 09:50 BST (UK)  »
I've just come across a family who used the given name "Phares". Some wrote it with a z at the end, which matches one of the sons of Judah from the old testament, though one clergyman wrote it as "Fairhurst" which gives a clue as to pronunciation!

3
Technical Help / Re: Converting to Windows11 from Win10
« on: Thursday 10 April 25 09:31 BST (UK)  »
Remember that it is Microsoft's support for bug fixes which ends later this year. Windows will carry on working. Your software will continue to work and be updated. Anti-virus software (including Windows Defender) will continue to work and be updated.

As long as you avoid "iffy" websites, and don't open tempting email attachments, you are about as likely to become infected with malware as you are now.

The actual hardware REQUIREMENTS for Windows 11 are a lot less than MS is demanding. It needs a 64-bit processor which supports particular machine instructions which became "normal" IIRC in about 2005. You will also need a minimum of 4GB memory otherwise Win11 will struggle. A solid-state drive is highly recommended to get decent speed from any modern OS.

Most of the requirements bypass instructions currently out there involve doing a clean install of Windows 11. For many, this is not a problem. Copy all those photos and other documents to somewhere safe, install Win11 and then copy the stuff back. THEN try to remember all those passwords your browser had stored for you.

If you have a load of software installed and you wish to retain it, have a look at "Flyby11".

The file server version of Windows does not demand the hardware that ordinary users "need" to purchase. Flyby11 cons the installer that it is dealing with the file server version, and it then carries out an in-place upgrade, retaining applications and settings.

I have used it a few times and found it to be simple to use and with good results.

Check everything carefully after any upgrade. One laptop failed to deal with the trackpad correctly when it awoke from sleep mode. If you have problems, you have a few days to revert to the previous version of Windows.

4
Lancashire / Re: Hiding somewhere in Wigan
« on: Friday 21 February 25 15:54 GMT (UK)  »
I'd found that one too. CA-IL seems a decent bet.

I'm trying to work out how that family fits together. Stepchildren make it more difficult.

5
Lancashire / Re: Hiding somewhere in Wigan
« on: Friday 21 February 25 12:13 GMT (UK)  »
Even if it was an RC marriage, in theory if it took plave then the GRO should have it indexed.

The closest I can find is John Cahill married Elizabeth Holley in 1874 at Wigan Register Office

Dec 1874 Wigan 8c 116

If John died in 1890 then who is the father of Elizabeth and Margaret?

The marriage looks good.

The "father" of the later children could easily be the reason why John is not home!

6
Lancashire / Re: Hiding somewhere in Wigan
« on: Friday 21 February 25 11:54 GMT (UK)  »
Great spot! I'm convinced it's the right family.

I'm trying to think why I missed them.  ???

All I have to do now is find them in 1881 and I'll know where John came from!

7
Lancashire / Hiding somewhere in Wigan
« on: Friday 21 February 25 10:44 GMT (UK)  »
I'm looking into a CAHILL family in the Wigan area. The family were RC, so not many events are online. The surname appears to be Irish; others in the district originate there.

John and Elizabeth had six children:
John b Q4 1882
Sarah b Q3 1884
Rose Ann b Q1 1887
Maria b 13 Apr 1889 (registered as CARL)
Elizabeth b 14 Sep 1891
Margaret b Q2 1895
All these have a mother's maiden name of HAWLEY or close approximation.

In 1901 and later, Elizabeth is widowed, and claims to be born about 1859 in Leigh. She died in 1924 and is buried in a shared grave.

I can't find a marriage for John and Elizabeth.

I can't find the family in 1891.

I can't reliably find John or Elizabeth before then either.

Maria was born in Ince. Elizabeth was born at Danson's Square, Wigan. The family are not at either address in the 1891 census. I have both these birth certs; Elizabeth made her mark both times. John is a colliery surface labourer in 1889, a coke burner in 1891.

There is a death and burial of a John Cahill in 1890. The burial mentions Adelaide Street, which is where the family were living in 1901.

Maria and Rose Ann are the sort of names which ought to be indexed, but I've not had any luck on Ancestry or FindMyPast.

Any ideas?

8
The Lighter Side / Re: Stupid Ancestry hint
« on: Monday 30 December 24 21:52 GMT (UK)  »
I provided appropriate feedback for my phone conversation, explaining that gaslighting was inappropriate, and that retraining about the real world (besides customer service) might be necessary.

A week later, I disconnected this Iris Spencer from the tree, being replaced by an Iris who had a matching 1939 Register record (found using FindMyPast), marriage and death entries.

The stupid hint remained for a further 10 days, but now the offender has hints which relate to my other Iris.

I have still to receive an email allowing me to submit technical details. In fact the only emails have been those promoting their DNA product.

9
The Lighter Side / Stupid Ancestry hint
« on: Thursday 12 December 24 10:23 GMT (UK)  »
In one of my trees I recently added:
Iris Spencer, born "bet Jul 1923 and Sep 1923 • Warrington, Lancashire, England"
 
Yesterday I glanced at her profile and found it showed 1 hint. To my surprise it showed the record below.

I am at a loss as to how their system deemed tis appropriate.

I eventually reached someone in their "support" department by phone. Although they could see exactly the same as I could, they were unable to see that there was any problem with the hint. Their attitude was to gaslight me. They claimed they would send me a link for me to send detailed information for their technical team. The promised email just had a link to a page in their useless "FAQ" section.

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